Nigerian Children are dying from False Claims of Witchcraft

This really gets me.

Evangelical Christianity in Nigeria is causing horrible abuse and wrongful deaths of children. Pastors are accusing children of witchcraft and putting them through "exorcisms" like pouring acid down their throats.

The worst part is the families allow this to happen. A growing number of children are dying like this.

Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files. Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises.

Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria. For their part, the families are often extremely poor, and sometimes even relieved to have one less mouth to feed.

Poverty, conflict and poor education lay the foundation for accusations, which are then triggered by the death of a relative, the loss of a job or the denunciation of a pastor on the make, said Martin Dawes, a spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund. "When communities come under pressure, they look for scapegoats," he said. "It plays into traditional beliefs that someone is responsible for a negative change ... and children are defenseless."

This is really hard to think about. These children need help and support. I am hoping these mission groups save these kids.

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